All the Arts, All the Time

Stephen Sondheim, Tony Kushner together at last in New York

November 12, 2010 | 1:35
pm

Have we had enough of the celebrations this year of Stephen Sondheim and Tony Kushner? Apparently for certain die-hard fans, there can never be too much of a good thing as far as these theatrical lions are concerned.

Sondheim and Kushner -- two of the biggest names in American theater -- will come together for a public conversation Nov. 29 in New York. The event, at New York University’s Skirball Center, is being organized by the Public Theater and will be moderated by Rocco Landesman, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts and a former Broadway producer.

The two writers have received a combined total of two Pulitzer Prizes, 10 Tony Awards and two Oscar nominations. (Sondheim won an Oscar for his song "Sooner or Later" for "Dick Tracy.")

Landesman should be able to bring some colorful anecdotes to the table, having collaborated with both scribes in the past in his capacity as the head of Jujamcyn Theaters. He worked with Kushner on the Broadway productions of "Angels in America" and "Caroline, or Change," and with Sondheim on "Into the Woods."